Desk PostureHow to set a chair, desk and screen so a working day does not accumulate.Body & healthWork from the ground up. Each step depends on the one before it being right.1Feet flatOn the floor or a footrest. Thighs roughly parallel to the ground.2Knees and hips ~90°Hips very slightly higher than knees. A gap of two fingers behind3Chair supports the lower backSit back into it. A cushion works if the chair does not.4Elbows ~90°, shoulders downRaise the chair to meet the desk, not the other way round.5Screen at arm's lengthTop of the screen at or just below eye level.6Move every 30 minutesStand, walk, look at something far away for 20 seconds.THE 20-20-20 RULEEvery 20 minuteslook at something 20 feet awayfor 20 secondsThe best posture is the next one. No position is good enough to hold forthree hours.Desk Posturelearnposters.com
Desk Posture — printable health wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Desk Posture, step by step

Work from the ground up. Each step depends on the one before it being right.

  1. Feet flatOn the floor or a footrest. Thighs roughly parallel to the ground.
  2. Knees and hips ~90°Hips very slightly higher than knees. A gap of two fingers behind the knee.
  3. Chair supports the lower backSit back into it. A cushion works if the chair does not.
  4. Elbows ~90°, shoulders downRaise the chair to meet the desk, not the other way round.
  5. Screen at arm's lengthTop of the screen at or just below eye level.
  6. Move every 30 minutesStand, walk, look at something far away for 20 seconds.

The 20-20-20 rule

  • Every 20 minutes
  • look at something 20 feet away
  • for 20 seconds

The best posture is the next one. No position is good enough to hold for three hours.

Questions about the Desk Posture poster

What’s on the Desk Posture poster?
6 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. Work from the ground up. Each step depends on the one before it being right. Feet flat — On the floor or a footrest. Thighs roughly parallel to the ground.; Knees and hips ~90° — Hips very slightly higher than knees. A gap of two fingers behi…; Chair supports the lower back — Sit back into it. A cushion works if the chair does not.; Elbows ~90°, shoulders down — Raise the chair to meet the desk, not the other way round.; Screen at arm's length — Top of the screen at or just below eye level.; Move every 30 minutes — Stand, walk, look at something far away for 20 seconds.. The best posture is the next one. No position is good enough to hold for three hours.
Who is the Desk Posture poster for?
Desk Posture belongs to the Body & health section rather than to a school year, because health is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning movement can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Desk Posture poster?
Set it once properly. Most desk pain is a setup problem, not a strength problem. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Desk Posture belongs on the wall where that health work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Desk Posture?
Breathing Under Load, Common Injuries and The Core sit alongside Desk Posture in the Body & health section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Breathing Under LoadCommon InjuriesThe Core
Is the Desk Posture poster free to download and print?
Yes. Desk Posture downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Body & health section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Desk Posture poster print at?
Desk Posture is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Desk Posture loses nothing.Printing guide

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